Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Best
Eating
Milan's dining scene is much like its fashion scene, with new restaurant openings
hotly debated and seats at Michelin-starred tables hard to come by. Whether it's
dyed-in-the wool traditional or contemporary fusion cuisine, you'll eat some of
Italy's most memorable and sophisticated food here.
The Milanese Larder
The food of Milan may not be redolent of the sun, like that of the south, but its
quintessential dishes are still richly golden-hued.
Cotoletta,
sliced buttery veal
with a burnished breadcrumb crust, and mellow yellow risotto Milanese (Po Valley
carnaroli
rice enriched with bone marrow and tinted with saffron) are cases in
point. Other gold standards include
osso bucco,
a veal shank stew scattered with
gremolata
(parsley, garlic and lemon rind); the polenta that accompanies meat or
mushroom dishes; pumpkin-stuffed sage-scented ravioli;
panettone,
the eggy,
brioche-like Christmas bread;
mostarda di frutta,
Cremona's mustard-laced sweet
preserves, and Lombardy's rich bounty of cheese.
Further Afield
Genovese and Piedmontese dishes often share the menu:
trofie
(pasta twists) with
pesto, potatoes and green beans and onion-strewn focaccia here;
bollito misto
(mixed boiledmeats) and
fonduta
(fondue) there. As well as the food of these near
neighbours, Milan's generations of immigrants mean that dishes from Lazio, Cam-
pania, Tuscany and Puglia are easy to find. The city's increasingly diverse global
population is also reflected in the its eating habits. Japanese and Chinese restaur-
ants are commonplace and the cuisines of India, the Middle East and Africa are all
represented.
